Maori rock carving at Mine Bay, Lake Taupo, North Island, New Zealand.

©Justin Foulkes/Lonely Planet

Māori Rock Carvings

Taupo


Accessible only by boat or kayak, these 14m-high carvings were etched into the cliffs near Mine Bay by master carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell in the late 1970s. They depict Ngātoro-i-rangi, the Māori navigator who guided the Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa tribes to the Taupō area 1000 years ago.

You can reach the carvings by boat with Sail Barbary or Ernest Kemp Cruises, or paddle to them with Taupo Kayaking Adventures or Canoe & Kayak.